My partner has the M41L and T215 mutations and his doctor has put him on Soctin and Kaletra. How robust is this treatment and what is the likely hood of resistance happening?

Response from Dr. Young

Hello and thank you for your post.

The mutations at RT positions 41 and 215 imply that your partner's virus has the potential for significant resistance to some of the NRTI (nuke) medications.

Given this, it's not unreasonable to avoid the class of medications (as your partner's doctor has done) and use a NNRTI+PI regimen. The combination of efavirenz (Sustiva, Stocrin) and lopinavir/ritonavir (Kaletra) has been studied and is generally acceptable with very good long-term potentcy. The key thing for your partner (as it is for all persons with HIV) is to really work towards perfect adherence. This is of extra importance in this circumstance because his virus is already resistance to some key HIV medications- you'd hate to have adherence be the reason why he were to loose the option of other medications.

This forum is designed for educational purposes only, and experts are not rendering medical, mental health, legal or other professional advice or services. If you have or suspect you may have a medical, mental health, legal or other problem that requires advice, consult your own caregiver, attorney or other qualified professional.

Experts appearing on this page are independent and are solely responsible for editing and fact-checking their material. Neither TheBody.com nor any advertiser is the publisher or speaker of posted visitors' questions or the experts' material.

The Body is a service of Remedy Health Media, LLC, 750 3rd Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10017. The Body and its logos are trademarks of Remedy Health Media, LLC, and its subsidiaries, which owns the copyright of The Body's homepage, topic pages, page designs and HTML code. General Disclaimer: The Body is designed for educational purposes only and is not engaged in rendering medical advice or professional services. The information provided through The Body should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or a disease. It is not a substitute for professional care. If you have or suspect you may have a health problem, consult your health care provider.